At least three kittens were thrown from a moving vehicle before they were killed by oncoming traffic, a horrified woman has claimed.

A woman, identified only as Kate, said that the felines "didn't stand a chance" and that if someone did throw them from a vehicle then they should face the consequences of the law.

Speaking on Liveline on RTE Radio One today, she explained what she saw on Wednesday afternoon at the Blanchardstown M3 junction on the M50 in Dublin.

She explained: "I'm obviously not sure if it was a deliberate act, it could have been accidental.

"Myself and a family member were heading into town and we were at the Blanchardstown M3 junction and we were going into the part where you go under the bridge and it splits off into four lanes.

"All of a sudden in the middle of the carriageway what we thought were little black bags with pieces of paper turned out to be little black kittens.

"First there was one, he took off across the carriageway and was killed, in the rear view mirror there was another and the same thing happened to it - it was killed.

"A third kitten nearly made it the whole way across the road safely but then it was killed.

"It was pretty upsetting, very horrific, even if you're not a cat lover it is a very dangerous thing."

She said that she feels the only realistic explanation about what happened is that the cats were thrown from a vehicle.

Kate said: "These cats didn't wander onto the motorway and they weren't dumped off a bridge, they seemed to be thrown out of a car but I can't confirm that.

"I didn't see that, all I saw were the kittens hitting the road, rolling forward in the direction of the traffic, so they were obviously falling or being thrown from a moving vehicle.

"They weren't all in one go, they were every twenty or thirty yards and there were three or four of them altogether.

"I don't think they could have been dropped from the overpass because they would have been in one spot but these cats were every twenty or thirty yards and they were trying to find their footing.

"There is a chance that these kittens fell from a trailer or were hidden in the axle of a wheel but I find that hard to believe that there were three or four of them that could fall off in regular intervals."

Kate said that she saw at least three kittens, that they were all black, aged around five weeks and "as cute as can be."

She said that she wants answers about where they may have come from.

Kate continued: "We couldn't see the car (where they may have been dropped from) because we were so busy trying to keep an eye on these cats and to try to help them.

"I know other people were swerving trying to do the same, it was pointless because they didn't stand a chance.

"It was so upsetting, so horrific and I know a lot of people will say there's more important things in the world but all I want to say is did anybody see this? Did anyone else get their number plate?

"If it was deliberate then somebody needs to get a knock on the door from the guards, you can give cats away or give them to the vet or - and I'm not condoning this - but even if you left them in a field they might have some chance of survival.

"These kittens didn't stand a chance."

Kate said that she has contacted the ISPCA and wants to ask gardai whether there were any cameras in the area that may have picked up what happened.

She noted: "My sense is that it was deliberate and horrifically planned for maximum impact and upset.

"I'm only grateful that my child wasn't in the car, although I'm sure there were children in other cars.

"Anybody, whether they are an animal lover or not, should be fairly appalled by this."